Tag: david roddy

Ja Morant serving as a perfect leader for David Roddy, Grizzlies

Only in his fourth year, Morant has established himself as a leader with the Grizzlies on and off the court.

It wasn’t that long ago Ja Morant was navigating through his rookie season with the Memphis Grizzlies. The second overall pick from Murray State quickly established himself as the top player in the 2019 NBA draft and was named the Rookie of the Year.

Only in his fourth season, Morant has become one of the elite players in the league. He already has quite a resume: All-Rookie first team, Most Improved Player, All-NBA second team and All-Star with another appearance all but guaranteed this year. In other words: Morant is emerging as one of the next faces of the NBA.

He also has another role on his plate: Leader of the Grizzlies.

Since he arrived in Memphis, the Grizzlies have ascended the Western Conference with Morant leading the way. The group has made the playoffs in back-to-back years and is heading toward a third straight appearance.

Befitting a team on the rise, head coach Taylor Jenkins has relied on plenty of young players since assuming the position in 2019. The Grizzlies are the fifth-youngest team in the NBA this season with an average age of 24.27. They feature a core of Morant, Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, Brandon Clarke, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ziaire Wiliams. The organization grew even younger by adding five rookies to the roster this year: Jake LaRavia (19th pick), David Roddy (23rd), Kennedy Chandler (38th), Vince Williams Jr. (47th) and Kenneth Lofton Jr. (undrafted).

With such high expectations after tying a franchise record of 56 wins and advancing to the conference semifinals last season, it wasn’t clear how much the rookies would contribute. However, Jenkins said at the beginning of the season they would have the opportunity to play, and Roddy has emerged as a key player off the bench.

Jenkins loves what Roddy brings to the court.

I think his biggest impact is just the competitiveness and the fire he plays with every single day. He is constantly learning the game still at this level — the physicality, the speed, the game-planning. The confidence that we have to throw him on guards and wings and bigs and just accept those challenges is really impressive.

I think he has shown those moments where he is finding a little bit more consistency as a rookie early in the season. Through all of that, (there is a) confidence in him that he is going to go out there and play with max force and try to take charges, try to keep guys in front of him. When he is open, he isn’t going to be afraid to knock down a shot.

Roddy is averaging 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds on 41% shooting from the field in 37 games this season. He has scored in double figures nine times, including a season-high 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists on Dec. 15 in a win over Milwaukee.

Listed at 6 feet, 4 inches and 255 pounds, the team likes the versatility Roddy brings off the bench. He can seemingly be used in multiple ways in the frontcourt, something that has been valuable to the team.

“I take pride in whatever role I’m assigned to do,” Roddy told Rookie Wire. “If that’s coming off the bench and guarding to the best of my ability or using my physicality and bringing energy off of the bench. If that includes knocking down shots on a certain day, that’s what I’m going to do.”

Those numbers by Roddy may not jump off the page, but considering the 21-year-old is logging fewer than 20 minutes per game, that production has been beneficial at times. His per-36-minute stats offer a better idea of what Roddy could do in a larger role: 12.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists.

Morant values what Roddy brings to the second unit.

I feel like bench production is a big piece to a good team. I feel like we’ve been having that since I’ve been here and now having younger guys come in and play a big part is even better for us. I feel like his development over the games we’ve played has been good.

He is finding his spots on the floor and where he likes to be. I pretty much know if I pass him the ball (he’ll) shoot it. He also can put pressure on the defense by attacking with his strong frame and being able to bulldoze through everybody and finish.

Roddy was thrown into the fire rather early in the season while the team dealt with injuries to Jaren Jackson Jr., Xavier Tillman Sr. and others. Those minutes helped Roddy learn on the fly and adjust to different coverages by opposing teams.

It also helped him get acclimated to his new teammates.

The veterans on the roster constantly encourage Roddy and the other young players on the court. Arriving in the NBA as a rookie can be a daunting task, but the experienced players have made it exponentially easier for him.

“It is very freeing,” Roddy said. “They instill confidence in us. They do what they do and it is also just like: ‘Find some opportunities within the offense to show what you got and be free and be aggressive.’ It definitely helps the team as a whole just with moving the ball and sharing and everything. It is great that they do that.”

Instilling confidence is something Morant wants to do.

He has proven to be the ultimate teammate and has each of their backs through the good and the bad. He often leads by example and is constantly hyping up his teammates on and off the court, and even on social media.

One example: During a game last season on the road versus Philadelphia, Morant found Williams for what would have been the game-winning shot in overtime, but the rookie missed it and the Grizzlies lost. Morant defended Williams afterward, and said he’d make the same play if that situation came up again.

Why are those moments important for Morant?

“I’ve been in that position but I’m a leader on this team,” Morant said. “I’m also the point guard. I feel like if I’m a leader, I have to be vocal. It is just me always trying to instill confidence in each one of our guys. Obviously, with the younger ones, there are going to be ups and downs. You’ll have a stretch where you can’t make anything and you have a stretch where you’re feeling good but you can’t let it change how you attack the game and how you play.”

With Morant and the rest of the players on the team, the Grizzlies’ group of rookies has been surrounded by some great experience and has been put into a position to succeed this year and beyond.

That is a direct result of the buy-in from Morant as their leader.

“He is such a pleasure to be around so I just want to make his job better,” Roddy said. “It definitely helps us jell together more. He is always accepting and always trying to make us better and make himself better.”

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Chet Holmgren, Jaden Ivey among 14 rookies to sign with Nike

Holmgren and Ivey were among 14 rookies to sign endorsement contracts with the Swoosh.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Chet Holmgren and Detroit Pistons guard Jaden Ivey on Friday were among 14 rookies to sign endorsement contracts with Nike, the apparel company announced.

Holmgren and Ivey, as top-five picks, were viewed as top targets for apparel companies as each player projects to have a bright future in the NBA. They both have worn Nike shoes in the past and will continue to do so after opting to sign with the Swoosh.

Related: No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero reacts to signing with Jordan Brand

Nike had a busy signing period with the incoming rookie class after coming to terms with 12 other first-year players. They signed 12 first-round picks and two second-round picks for the 2022-23 season after a relatively quiet class over the past few years because of the pandemic.

Here are the 14 rookies that signed with Nike this season.

Taylor Jenkins: Grizzlies’ rookies have pathway to play this season

The Grizzlies are integrating several rookies onto the roster, but Taylor Jenkins believes they will have the opportunity to play.

The Memphis Grizzlies will be tasked with integrating several first-year players onto the roster this season, but head coach Taylor Jenkins believes they will have the opportunity to play.

The Grizzlies drafted Jake LaRavia (19th pick), David Roddy (23rd), Kennedy Chandler (38th) and Vince Williams Jr. (47th) this year, while signing Kenneth Lofton Jr. They have all been with the team during summer league and, now, the preseason.

Jenkins likes what each player brings to the court.

I’ve loved what I’ve seen out of our rookies dating back to summer league, voluntary workouts and the preseason so far. These guys are getting opportunities. We’re trying to create a competitive preseason as much as possible. I love how all of these guys have versatility.

Obviously, Kennedy plays more of the point guard position but with Jake and David playing the three and four, that just gives us some optionality depending on what we need. Those guys are going to have their different strengths both offensively and defensively at the three and four.

The Grizzlies tied a franchise record last season with 56 wins en route to the second seed in the Western Conference. They ran out of steam in the conference semifinals after Ja Morant went down with a knee injury, but they look to improve upon that run this year.

With such high expectations, it isn’t certain how much playing time their rookies will see. Championship contenders often lean on their veterans instead of rookies, but Jenkins believes they will have chances to earn their place in the rotation.

I think these guys have pathways to play early in the season and we’ll just kind of play it from there. It has been competitive. Those guys have been soaking up a lot of information. Their heads were spinning a lot on the first day of training camp but they have really settled in with the extra sessions and the extra film work.

I think the vets have done a phenomenal job with their leadership of just putting these young guys under their wings and helping them understand what we’re doing. We’re trying to get up to speed quicker than we normally have in previous years and the vets have done a great job with the rookie class.

LaRavia leads the group with 8.3 points per game in three preseason appearances, while Roddy is averaging eight points and 3.5 rebounds. There is a drop-off after them. Chandler and Williams are averaging 3.7 points and three points, respectively.

The team is certainly prioritizing minutes for LaRavia and Roddy given their versatility in the lineup, as Jenkins has said. They seem to have the best chance of cracking the rotation early, but that could change due to injuries and other factors.

Overall, the group has impressed Jenkins.

I love their performances already. Their playmaking ability, shot-making ability but their versatility defensively. I think understanding the team concept defensively has probably been the biggest thing for rookies to grasp and they’re doing a great job.

The team will have plenty of time to work out its rotations and playing time for the rookie class. Jenkins could eventually have some tough decisions to figure out, but that likely isn’t a bad thing with so many young guys performing at a high level.

Memphis wraps up the preseason on Thursday with the Detroit Pistons.

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Grizzlies’ David Roddy drops 46 points at Twin Cities Pro-Am

Roddy returned to his hometown and put on a show in the Twin Cities Pro-Am in Minneapolis.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie David Roddy on Tuesday returned to his hometown and put on a show in the Twin Cities Pro-Am in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Roddy, who attended Breck School nearby in Golden Valley, dropped 46 points for EC Playaz in the annual summer event at Minnehaha Academy. He dropped in five 3-pointers and had a number of dunks in the contest, including one from a teammate off of the backboard.

The 23rd pick went up against mostly players with college experience, but native and No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren was among those in attendance. He attended Minnehaha Academy prior to playing collegiately at Gonzaga University.

The appearance for Roddy is fresh off of a strong run with the Grizzlies in the Las Vegas Summer League. He averaged 15 points, five rebounds and 1.6 assists in five games, and flashed moments that made him a first-round pick this year.

He is expected to compete once again this summer in the pro-am and will likely have another outing that mirrored Tuesday’s effort in that upcoming contest.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Statistical proof the Grizzlies are picking extremely similar players in the NBA Draft to support Ja Morant

These stats are insane.

The Memphis Grizzlies made four picks in the 2022 NBA Draft, selecting Jake LaRavia, David Roddy, Kennedy Chandler, and Vince Williams Jr.

During his introductory press conference, Memphis head coach Taylor Jenkins stressed the versatility that he sees in each of these prospects. Jenkins also emphasized their abilities as playmakers, adding that the “film matches up with the stats” and they all play hard on defense.

We correctly identified LaRavia and Roddy as first-rounders in our final mock draft projections. We also had Roddy projected to Memphis in March and LaRavia to the Grizzlies last month. Roddy, however, was otherwise not often mocked in the first round and LaRavia was rarely considered a top-20 projected pick.

So why was Memphis go against consensus opinion for these two players, even trading away a valuable player in De’Anthony Melton to get the deal done?

When a franchise has a cornerstone like Ja Morant, they do everything they can to work around that building block. So my guess is that these players are individuals the team feels are best suited to support Morant.

But what is it about these players in particular? The data helps provide some context. Last year, based on brilliant research from Shawn Coleman, we speculated about the Grizzlies’ draft philosophy that brings them to target certain types of players in the NBA Draft.

By reverse-engineering statistical profiles, we noticed some notable trends that may intrigue the front office and the scouting department in Memphis. The results for this year yielded three college basketball players who reached the following thresholds last season:

EFFICIENT SHOT SELECTION: EFG% above 57%

VALUE BEYOND SCORING: D-REB% and AST% both above 14%

DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKING: BLK% and STL% both above 2%

Those players (of course) were Wake Forest’s LaRavia, Colorado State’s Roddy, and VCU’s Williams. The Grizzlies literally drafted all three. We also featured all three in our pre-draft interview series!

Chandler, who is the outlier in this group, was a hometown product widely projected to go in the first round. So when he was available in the second round, it was simply too much value to leave him on the board.

Otherwise, however, one reason why those numbers mentioned above are particularly interesting: Some other recent players who also accomplished as much while in college include Brandon Clarke, Xavier Tilllman, and John Konchar. All three, of course, are currently on the Grizzlies.

It’s clear that Memphis wants players that are able to contribute even without the ball in their hands. They are also targeting guys who are ready to make an impact right away, per Grizzlies executive Zach Kleiman:

“As we’ve done with a lot of our prior picks, I think we have mature rookies coming in … Guys who are a little bit more experienced. We feel like we were able to bring in a group that fits what we’re about, and that’s going to help us move the needle.”

The Grizzlies led the league in stocks (steals plus blocks) last season. It’s unlikely, based on what we have seen so far, that they would draft someone with low effort or productivity on that end of the floor.

So what does this mean? Aside from the fact that these are players who can help the Grizzlies straightaway, this exercise can help us identify future NBA prospects who could fit on this roster.

Next season, players who produce at similar levels of productivity as we saw from LaRavia and Roddy ought to be considered targets for Memphis in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Some of the players who were at least relatively close to reaching those aforementioned marks last season and are returning to school include Kris Murray (Iowa), Norchad Omier (Miami), Jalen Slawson (Furman), Azuolas Tubelis (Arizona), Will Richard (Florida), Makhi Mitchell (Arkansas), Kevin Cross (Tulane), and Coleman Hawkins (Illinois).

Perhaps none of them end up going to Memphis, and the Grizzlies try a new philosophy altogether. But regardless, it’s interesting when patterns like this emerge with regard to talent evaluation.

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